Sentar
The city of Sentar and its hinterland form the Republic of Sentar '('Dimocrazia Sentaria), one of the most important states in the Rosorro Sea. Located on the coast of Meragna (Eradina), it is both a sovereign independent city-state as well as a member of the Sentarion Commonwealth '('Comunale Sentaria). It also serves as the seat of the Crowned Church of Merem, the world's largest religious denomination. It is known for its vast numbers of canals and bridges, as well as marble waterfront buildings. The centre of the city, known as the Isonto, a sloping hill island marking the administrative core of the city. At its peak is the Palace Square where the Duce's palace and the Princep's palace face each other over an exquisite plaza. It hosts the political and religious elite of the city, and is the only part of the city to have walls and hard fortifications. The rest of the city relies on its position far out to the sea to repel potential invaders. Historically it served as a merchant city with a large artisanal population and strong financial institutions, a legacy shown clearly in its current trade-based economy and massive reliance on tertiary economic activities. It hosts most meetings on international disputes, known as the Council of Kings. Failure to comply with a ruling by the council may result in penal fines by the Sentarion senate, withdrawal of funds by the Bank of the Faith, or punitive military action by Sentar and its allies. Legislature The Sentarion Republic is governed by six organs: the Duce, the senate, the Merchant's council, the Princep, the Holiest Assembly and the Jury of Commoners. The Duce is elected by the nobility and ultimately is the highest authority in the city and nominal head of state. The Duce is responsible for opening the Senate and his signature is required for passing of laws or declaration of war. The Merchant's council is composed of guild leaders and the patrician ascendancy, controlling taxation in the city. It is mostly composed of officially-recognised patricians, descended from Doms of the Merem Empire, who come from a series of ruling families. The Princep is the religious leader of the Crowned Church of Merem and in theory an equal to the Duce insofar as the city derives its sovereignty from both Duce and Princep. There is huge tension between the two leaders. The Holiest assembly is an assembly of clergy that enforce religious and moral laws. In recent years their power has waned significantly as practitioners of non-native faiths are now present in large numbers in the city. The Jury of Commoners is a random selection of commoners changed every year to give the people a voice in the city's ruling. They can remove members of the Merchant's council or the Holiest Assembly in the interests of the people. Military The Military of the Sentarion Commonwealth (Forzesco de Comunale Sentaria) is responsible for the defence of each of the members, and is under the control of the Senate of the Sentarion Republic. The Duce of Sentar, as head of the Sentarion Senate, nominally commands the armed forces. All able-bodied citizens of the Republic of Sentar and the Treaty Cantons, but not Meer or Ashor, must serve for a minimum 2 years in the Forzesco. Navalare de Comunale The Navy of the Commonwealth historically has been its strongest branch, being the largest single fleet in the Rosorro Sea despite the large Rosorro coastlines of superpowers Eradina and Hamaji. The fleet comprises 20,000 personnel and 300 vessels, including large ironclad battleships as well as more mobile unarmoured varieties with heavier armaments, several aircraft carriers, and a number of auxiliary and patrol vessels. The Navalare de Comunale also commands several light hybrid airships. The purpose of the Navalare is primarily to ensure the security of Sentarion commercial interests within the Rosorro Sea and to quash piracy. However the Navalare also enforces rulings of the Council of Kings and engages in war with states in conflict with the commonwealth. Aeronatare de Comunale The Air Force of the Commonwealth generally plays an auxiliary role to the Navalare, and comprises 50 airships and 150 aeroplanes. Airships are used for strategic bombing and carrying airborne troops, whereas planes are predominantly used for targeted airstrikes against strategic targets and providing air cover for the Armare. Armare de Comunale The Army of the Commonwealth comprises both cavalry and infantry of the Commonwealth, dedicated primarily to manning garrisons in the Treaty Cantons. Large numbers serve under Eradine command as part of the Solar Alliance. Gardiana Princepale The Gardiana Princepale is under the command of the Princep and his Holy Assembly rather than the Duce and his Senate, a smaller force dedicated to the protection of the Princep and to Soltiric Church missionaries overseas. The Gardiana Princepale mirrors the structure of the military of the commonwealth (with the Navalare Princepale, Aeronatare Princepale, and Armare Princepale) but is much smaller in size. History Origins Sentar, according to popular folklore, began as a lighthouse on the island that would become the Isonto. Solister in his missions to spread the Soltiric Church to Ortus was chased and nearly killed by barbarians and so fled to a lighthouse on an isolated island. The lighthouse keeper cared for him, and with his family converted to the faith. He had converted many people before he had been chased from the mainland, and these adherents flocked to this island as a safe haven from which to practice their faith. Soon the island could no longer hold them. People were forced to build stilt houses in the sea immediately surrounding the island. The settlement was then named Merem. He eventually converted a local king on the mainland, and with the king's army began to carve a kingdom of his own on the mainland. Thus the Merem Empire was born. Merem Empire The sons of Solister centuries later became mighty rulers, all taking the name Soltirius when they became emperor. The faith attracted great armies of men of undying loyalty, and with these they took most of the continent. Meredonia,Celais, Meragna, Kettland, Weigeld, parts of Brimwall, Insios, Meer, and the Ortusian regions of Kameria as well as most of the Kamerian coast, Ilethia, Lovas, Glaviya, Ranora, Dragasto, even as far north as the southern coast of Mealla, all came under their rule. Eventually even much of the northern coast of the continent of Hamaji were conquered, and the Merem Empire controlled all of the Rosorro Sea barring where Hamaji broke their dominance over the coastline. This was considered a golden age for the continent, a period of enlightenment with impressive monuments of stone and some of history's greatest thinkers. However it was also a period of intense religious intolerance, with native faiths suppressed and dissenters killed. Eventually, with Soltirius XIV, the emperor lost favour with the religious elite and saw the empire crumble, as he had taken up the heretical Faith of the Twelve and took a husband. He was executed by the Doms of Old Merem for betraying the Soltiric Church, of which he was nominally head. Without the cult of personality surrounding the descendants of Solister, the empire divided and fell. Sentar lost its hold on the continent. Sentarion Republic and Meragnese League territories occupied during the Wars of the Sun]] The areas immediately surrounding the city remained under the authority of the city officials, the Doms of Old Merem. They was no rule of law or single ruler, and so the nearby Telosine Empire sacked the city multiple times and demanded tribute from it in slaves and wealth. Eventually Dom Robar Sentarion established the groundwork of the institutions that rule the city to this day, to stabilise the ever-infighting classes in the city. He gave himself the title 'Duce' and relinquished the city's claims to its empire, proclaiming the new Sentarion Republic. The office of the Princep was established which saw a further resurgence in influence. The Princep was elected by the Radiant Council of the twelve most important priests in the faith (eg. the Gathair, the Holy Prince of Belkor (since removed from the registry), etc.). He was to be celibate, and the spiritual descendant of Solister rather than blood descendant. Sentar was made his official seat, however a rival Princep was installed in [[Insios|'Telozium']], but as the Sentarion Princep had been elected by officials from all over Ortus and not merely installed by a state it had much greater recognition. The first thing this new republic set about doing was building a fleet to reclaim maritime territories. They recaptured the islands of [[Insios|'Insios']] (the main body of land controlled by the Telosine Empire, during the invasion they freed Sentarion slaves and razed cities to the ground in vengeance), [[Meer|'Meer']] and Ashor, before forging an alliance with the inland city-states such as Siarana to form a new federal republic. Each district was to be given a representative in the city's senate. The new federation was to be called Meragna, or the Meragnese League. Under the joint rule of the Duce and the Princep, Meragna flourished and dominated the Rossoro Sea both in trade and in military. The states of Meragna were # Nisios, the mountain city-state also as the Iron Shield (3 seats at senate) # Siarana, the Serene City of Music, famed for its towers and underground waterways (6 seats) # Marezza, the city of paint, brightly coloured and charming (2 seats) # Lucena and Albario, the twin cities of food and lovemaking, with their famed bakers and prostitutes (5 seats) # Donala, the city of queens, with daughters from every noble family in the city married off to powerful leaders (4 seats) # Mispai, the largest city in the islands of Meer, known as the shifting city (2 seats) # Prematta, the bulk of Sentar's mainland holdings, the large agricultural region that fed the city (5 seats) # Meer, the islands of the water nomads (6 seats, one for every two islands) # Insios, the islands of grand ruins from ancient civilisations (4 seats, despite being the largest by far) # Ashor, the island of palm wine, nearer to Hamaji than to Sentar (1 seat) # The Kaskish Cantons, exclaves of the republic dotting the coast of Kameria (3 seats) # Sentar, the Floating City, Old Merem, the Jewel of the World and the Light in the Dark (14 seats and veto) # The Soltiric Church (5 seats and veto) Domination by Weigeld-Lovas Eventually the neighbouring Empire of Weigeld-Lovas (now part of Eradina and Lovas) came to dominate Meragna. While much of the Meragnese navy was abroad aiding Dierado (now part of Meredonia) in its campaigns against Bahar, the empire captured the mainland territories and the city itself. As a result of this loss of central authority, Insios became an independent state and the Kaskish Cantons were invaded by Kameria. Meer and Ashor remained the last remnants of Meragna. They adopted the name Fallen Meragna and remained supportive of the old administration. Eventually Weigeld-Lovas, as a result of ill-advised conquests of Meragna and Devat, collapsed. Weigeld became part of Gauterland and Lovas became an independent state. Nisios, Apogna and Granella were incorporated into Merre, and were eventually given autonomy within Eradina as the Princely League of Meragna. Sentar was allowed to exist as an independent state, and through aid from Eradina, rose to become a wealthy and powerful city once more. Sentarion Commonwealth The Sentarion Commonwealth is collective the name of all nations under the joint sovereignty of the Princep and Duce of Sentar. The Commonwealth is formally governed by the Parliament of the Sentarion Commonwealth, a bicameral parliament with representatives from each of the member nations of the Commonwealth, however is de facto controlled by the Senate of the Sentarion Republic which numerically dominates the Parliament of the Commonwealth. History Sentar shed its past of conquest and forced incorporation and instead turned to diplomacy. The loyal territories of Meer and Ashor had their contribution recognised through granting them independence, but with defence and aid from Sentar. They continue to recognise the Duce and Princep as head of state but both are anarchic in governance so Sentar has little direct power over them. The Sentarion navy maintains fortresses and trading posts in these strategic little islands. Insios had a much more strained relationship with their Sentarion rulers during the Meragna-era, and so opted not to join the commonwealth. Sentar respected this decision, however years later forcibly seized many Insian trading ports in reparation for actions of Insios during the ongoing Insian-Kamerian war. Relations with Eradina During the early post-occupation period, Sentar was effectively a puppet and protectorate of Eradina. It had nominal self-rule, but in the wake of the decline under Weigeld-Lovas all of Sentar's policies and actions fell in line with Eradine interests in order to secure the aid of their larger neighbour. In addition, the city of Sentar lacked a source of grain, and was forced to rely on Eradina in order to feed the population. Eventually, however, the Archking Celais granted Sentar control of a large piece of Meragnese territory as tribute to the Princep. This allowed Sentar to assert itself without Eradine approval, as they had become self-sufficient and recovered from the trade declines that had occurred under Weigeld-Lovas. Voliaire Incident Archking Voliaire came after Archking Celais, who had granted Sentar its territory, but he was a controversial Archking. He was twice-divorced, including to Sentarion noblewoman Fioressa Dor'Velare, and despite his family coming from Merres in Eradina, he was himself born in Insios and spoke the Insian language. Worst of all, in the eyes of Sentar, he had a Shevirite wife, who despite converting to the Soltiric Church still practiced Elsarism. At his selection by the electors of Eradina, the Princep of Sentar refused to crown him, citing the fact that during his youth he had worshipped at a cathedral of the Telosine Congress Church of the Pentarchy. Sentar also proclaimed that he had also followed a devil-worshipping Insian cult (related to the Faith of the Twelve) and was homosexual, and thus ineligible for Archkingship. The ensuing tension threatened to bring the two nations to war, and during this time Sentar constructed the Pranum Barricade along the edges of their mainland holdings granted by Archking Celais. The Meragnese cantons of Eradina largely shared Sentar's distrust of the Archking, and thus Voliaire's Eradina was faced with a civil war should they take action, but faced with an illegitimate reign if they did not. The crisis was averted ten years later, however, after a recounting of the ballots cast during election found that Archking Azaro from Meredonia had in fact won the majority vote. Azaro was devoutly Soltiric and pro-Sentar, desiring Sentarion support in campaigns against Bahar. Members of the Sentarion Commonwealth Treaty Cantons The Treaty Cantons are a collection of scattered exclaves across the coast of Kameria, Insios, Ilethia, and Lovas, collectively considered one member of the Sentarion Commonwealth. The Treaty Cantons are under the direct rule of the Sentarion Republic, unlike other Commonwealth members who have devolved governments. The Treaty Cantons have the constitutional right to self-government but this right is unlikely ever to be exercised. The Kaskish Cantons were originally under Kamerian control, granted to the Commonwealth by the Sahlem of Kameria as part of the Treaty of Lunilium. These exclaves were granted for the explicit purpose of accommodating minority Soltiric Church communities along the Kamerian coast, which claimed persecution by the Saheric state of Kameria. In return, Sentar ended its trading sanctions on Kameria and provided military support for the Kamerian expansion into the Balsar Dominion. Some key locations on the coast of Lovas '''and Insios''' were forcibly confiscated by the Commonwealth under Sentarion international law in the Council of Kings as concessions following their surrender in the Great Northern War. Notable among these were the cities of Donala and Marezza, which had been part of the old Meragnese League. Ashor See 'Ashor' Ashor is an sandy island in the southwestern Rosorro sea, is known for its soft beaches and palm wine. Most of the islands resources are not exportable, and so the people outside the capital live in simple dwellings. Its capital, Kaval, is home to large numbers of Sentarion military seamen, as it is the location of one of the Commonwealth's largest military bases on account of its strategic proximity to the Kingdom of Hamaji. Historically Ashor had no formal nobility or structured government, organised instead into community-ruled communes. Traces of this lifestyle remain in rural areas outside the capital and its busy ports, where village-level communes still exist with little to no hierarchical command. Free City of Aisor Meer See 'Meer' Scholarly State of Vedessa See 'Sovereign University of Vedessa' , used as the de facto flag of the Scholarly State of Vedessa]] The Scholarly State of Vedessa is a tiny exclave on the coast of the Eradine principality of Meragna, notable insofar as it is governed by an entity considered independent of the Commonwealth; the Sovereign University of Vedessa. The town of Vedessa falls into the domain of the Commonwealth but is governed in trust by the University. The Commonwealth remains responsible for the defence of the Scholarly State. The University sends and receives ambassadors by its own authority and is considered a distinct subject of international law to the Commonwealth. The Bank of the Faith In the vaults beneath the Isonto in the centre of the city of Sentar, lies the largest single collection of wealth on the continent. Under the faith's control, these vaults filled with gold, spices and priceless art go towards lending capital to defenders of the faith. Kings and emperors melt before them, even the Archking of Eradina is heavily indebted to the faith. In this way the faith has manipulated the political landscape of the continent, bringing the faithful into power and funding the suppression of infidels. The Council of Kings holds its weight over the major rulers of the continent due to their reliance on Sentar's capital. To avoid financial ruin, they have no choice but to accept Sentar's rulings. The bank has funded armies, wars, has catapulted empires into prominence while engineering the collapse of others. Securing the faith's support not only secures support from the commoners and faithful vassals, but financial support also. Alas because of their clear biases they are not favoured by those who do not follow the faith. Ardair (about half of population adhere to the faith, but government makes a large effort to not show biases towards one or the other), Kameria, Bahar and Mernove instead rely on the merchant banks found in Briglas, Jernport, or especially Bolcan. Kameria and Bahar also often receive loans from Hamaji. Council of Kings Sentar hosts the Council of Kings, an assembly of leaders from all around the continent. Delegates meet regularly to discuss the state of the world and negotiate diplomatic positions. Failure to comply with the rulings of the council may result in penal fines by the Sentarion Senate, withdrawal of funds by the Bank of the Faith, or punitive military action by Sentar and its allies. Each nation has one vote, however excessively large nations may be granted extra voting power. The Duce of Sentar makes the final judgement on the council's decisions, being responsible for Sentar's reaction to their resolution. The council is held in the largest hall in the Isonto, in a decommissioned cathedral rendered unfit for religious use by its desecration by Princep Sanigo dor'Velare (holding orgies in the Motherly Cathedral, which was formerly this very cathedral). Under the laws of the council, all wars must be declared in the council before violence begins, and faith officials may not be harmed in war. Recognised nations afforded seats in the council include: * Eradina (Gauterland/Merres/Meredonia/Brimwall/Meragna given individual seats also, and on occassion Miryath, Argoya, and Mondaire) * Insios * Meer * Ashor * Bahar * Kameria * Lovas * Venkort (Zorana and Kausra occasionally afforded individual seats) * Ardair * Norra * Bolcan * Hamaji * Shevir * the Beygir Empire (represented by Mernove, and given 3 seats on account of their size) * Janbat * Zapevina * Ilethia * Jedem * Malhar * Akrabad * Ramarta * Semar * Ghiran * Rhalib In addition, religious officials such as the Princeps and the Gathair are given seats on the council. Regions with limited recognition are occasionally afforded seats, for example the self-proclaimed King of the Halfway Isles sat at the assembly intended to resolve the Halfway Isles Dispute. A seat is provided for a delegate from Janbat due to early religious links between Janbat and Ortus, but due to Janbat's distance from Sentar, the seat has only twice been filled twice in history. Generally Zapevina, Illethia and Lovas form a voting bloc. The five Eradine kingdoms form another. Norra, Bolcan and Ardair tend to vote together, as do Meer and Ashor, as do Hamaji, Kameria, and neighbouring north Hamajin states, as well as Bahar, Jedem, and Malhar. Shevir tends to automatically vote against anything supported by Hamaji, as does Insios to anything supported by Kameria. The Beygir Empire remains as somewhat less predictable in its patterns. Faith of the Twelve Sentar began as the capital of the Merem Empire, Old Merem, and as the holy city of the Soltiric Church. However a large minority of the population, largely Doms and other nobility, practiced the faith of the twelve. It was a holdover from a time before the Soltirisation of Ortus, when the lands around the Merem Lagoon each practiced their own faith, and was considered heretical and barbaric, without morals. Nonetheless even the Motherly Cathedral of the Soltiric Church is decorated with motifs from the Faith of the Twelve, which were loved as drama and literature by the majority. The faith of the twelve has twelve gods, one for each of the months of the year. Each is given one domain, one virtue, and one sin. Argelian was the god of wealth. He represented the virtue of foresight, and the sin of miserliness. Pathetians were the gods of love, always depicted engaging in sexual acts upon each other. Old Merem paintings drew them as two young men, but more recent ones draw them as a man and a woman. They represented the virtue of devotion, and the sin of moral deviation. Decros was the goddess of age. She represented the virtue of wisdom, and the sin of denigration. Merlos was the god of the sea. He represented the virtue of open-mindedness and fluidity,and the sin of treachery. He was depicted with octopus motifs. Sangessa was the goddess of war. She represented the virtue of resistance, and the sin of cruelty. Gartius was the god of wind and storm. He represented the virtue of pleasure, and the sin of forcefulness. He was depicted as a virile, young counterpart to Merlos. Carvia was the goddess of hunting. She represented the virtue of aid, and the sin of immediate gratification. Velendria was the triumvirate genderless patron of parenthood. They represented the virtue of care, and the sin of exploitation. Neria was the goddess of knowledge. She represented the virtue of learning, and the sin of deceit. Grinia Tatnim was the goddess of the sun. She represented the virtue of balance, and the sin of judgement. Belimus was the goddess of the underworld. She represented the virtue of justice, and the sin of domination. Basetian was the god of death. He represented the virtue of fairness, and the sin of destruction. The twelve differs mostly from the three faces of Elroh in its behavioural mores and attitudes towards sex and sexuality. The Soltiric Church painted the twelve's followers as sexual deviants, having open orgies in their paper masks, which was only true on special marked days of the year. Women were barred from following the faith, and followers of the twelve were expected to bed and marry other men. Affairs with women were taken to be practical, only to produce a child, practical and loveless. Women were painted as addictive and parasitic tests from the gods, and to abstain from their affections was right and good. They were said to sap a man's virility and taint his mind. The only expression of love and desire permitted was between men. Male love was seen as pure and loving, and a gift from the gods. As a result it was the only love that could be consecrated as marriage in the eyes of the faith. Women's addictive and parasitic sexual properties were said to wax and wane with the cycle of the moon, so on certain marked days of the year when the moon was in a certain position they were it was considered safe to have relations with them. Married men took this as an opportunity to conceive children, and so special ritual orgies were arranged in secret every year. All of this ran contrary to the Soltiric Church's teachings, yet when a male couple went down the canals of Merem, they went unmolested. The Twelve had secret followers in very high positions of power within the city, and for mutual protection all of the faithful came down like a hammer on anyone who harassed their members. People were found strung up on fishhooks for even minor disrespect. The Duce himself was said to fear them, and the Princep and the Soltiric priests tread very carefully around them. Eventually, male couples became so normalised that nobody would even think to object to their existence. In fact, as they mostly came from powerful backgrounds and came with the additional protection of the faith, the city became enthralled with their sense of decadence and mystery. Male love was considered novel and interesting, and became the feature of Merem theatre and literature. It became a fashion for men, even among the faithful to the Soltiric Church, to pose nude for art, especially sculpture. The iconic Merem statues came from this trend, and even portrayed men in affectionate poses and committing lesser sexual acts upon one another. Murals of explicit sexual acts between men came to be more popular than those between opposite sexes, and came to be very normal in most households. It became normal for men to strip nude for athletics, especially for wrestling and arena fighting. Public bathing became the norm, with public bathhouses frequented by men of all backgrounds, and men did not cover themselves as had once been tradition. This all explicitly broke the Heavenly Scroll commandment declaring that to look upon or touch the naked flesh of a man, outside the contract of marriage, was defilement of the highest order. So strong was the allure of the twelve that the Soltiric Church officially suspended this commandment for bathing, and declared that to look upon ones flesh in art does no break it (however to look upon their flesh when creating said art did, so men often employed their wives to carve or paint their nakedness, leading to a strong female artist population in Sentar lasting to this day). For a period of hundred years, male love became nearly twice as common as opposite sex-love in theatre and literature. They were a favourite of the writers of the tragedies. At the period's height, men of the Soltiric Church courted and made 'little marriages' (Infematrum) with their head servant prior to becoming married to a woman. After marriage their Infematrum partner might remain as a sort of concubine, which was forbidden but ignored, or else remain merely as the master's favoured servant. Nearly all slave-owners bedded their male slaves but not their female ones, as that would reduce their value and disgrace their master's wife, but slaves were not considered human so the Soltiric Church explicitly permitted this. It was also not considered infidelity to bed one's slaves, but to bed ones female slaves would imply that the master's wife is lesser than a slave and so would be the ultimate slight. This is a practice that continued for centuries until the invasion of Weigeld-Lovas and the abolishment of slavery. However it was not to last. When Emperor Soltirius XIV (who was head of both the Merem Empire and the Soltiric Church) converted to the faith of the twelve and married another man, it was a last straw for the Soltiric Church. Other emperors (Soltirius XIII, X, and IIX) had worshipped in the Twelve's temples before and made Infematrum, but also kept a wife and his Soltiric faith simultaneously. Most emperors before him, and indeed most of the nobility, some of the Duces and even some of the Princeps that came after the empire's fall, kept male lovers in semi-secrecy and named them favourites. What triggered the violent reaction to Soltirius XIV's conversion and marriage was that he completely abandoned the Soltiric Church, even though he was the divine ruler of said church. He also converted at an inopportune time, just as the church began prosecution for the Faith of the Twelve's orgies in the Grand Bathhouse. They executed Soltirius, and burned the twelve's temples. The twelve's powerful protectors were discovered and stripped of titles. Outside of certain aristocratic districts, it was a capital crime to show affection to another man. All of the bathhouses but the Grand Bathhouse were shut, and weddings were restricted to members of the opposite sex. The Heavenly Scrolls commandment on nudity and defilement became enforceable by the Holiest Assembly, and depending on the frequency and severity could result in execution. Later, when the Princep Sanigo dor'Velare's reign of hedonism came to light, famed for holding orgies in the Motherly Cathedral, the Holiest Assembly cracked down even harder on sexual deviancy and established an inquisition to discover those in outlawed relationships as well as any who might follow the Faith of the Twelve. The Princep was executed under new laws around the desecration of sacred spaces. Laws loosened but they remain in place. The Faith of the Twelve was wholly banned, but still a key part of the Sentarion arts. At one point, it was discovered that the previous Duce of Sentar secretly practiced the faith, but he was not removed from office, even when he began practicing openly and took an Infematrum. The tradition of making Infematrum was never outlawed, but the sexual acts associated with it were, so as a result was used as a tax evasion method rather than a romantic partnership. Following the reestablishment of the Republic after the fall of the Empire of Weigeld-Lovas, the Sentarion Senate adopted a constitution based on the Merrois model, omitting blasphemy laws and laws regarding non-violent sexual conduct, effectively legalising both the Faith of the Twelve and homosexuality. The Princep and his Holiest Assembly objected but it was ruled that the Church did not have jurisdiction over the criminal code of the Republic. The Assembly and Princep maintain that the Faith and homosexuality are illegal, but do not have power to enforce this.